STAR GAZER
THE INTERNATIONAL EDITION

STAR GAZER is seen nationally on most PBS stations. There is a
five minute and a one minute version available each week. If it
is not currently on your PBS station we suggest you contact your
local PBS programming director and let them know it is available
free to all PBS stations. Visit http://www.pbs.org/stationfinder/index.html
for help in locating your local PBS station. You may take STAR
GAZER off satellite for personal use, classroom use, astronomy
club use, etc. without written permission.

Satellite feed info:

GE 3 - PBS Transponder 512 - Digital Only!

Star Gazer is also available from NASA CORE.
A videotape of the current month is available from NASA CORE (Contact
us for current price)
NASA Central Operation of Resources for Educators
Lorain County JVS NASA CORE / 15181 Route 58 South / 440/775-1400
/ FAX 440/775-1460 /
http://www.nasa.gov/education/core
nasa_order@lcjvs.netNotice : These are working drafts
of the scripts for STAR GAZER.
Changes may well be made as production requires.

"Star Gazer" is available
with iTunes,
for downloading with Quicktime
and we're now on YouTube

STAR GAZER 5 MINUTE

"The Lost Rings Of Saturn Return
And
An Aging Moon Visits Two Planets And
Virgo's Brightest Star"

Horkheimer: Greetings, greetings fellow star
gazers. Next week an aging waning crescent Moon will slowly shrink
and as it does so will pay a visit to the prettiest ringed planet
whose lost rings are now returning, plus the brightest star of
the constellation Virgo, and the brightest planet of them all,
which will soon disappear from easy view. Let me show you.

O.K., we've got our skies set up for Thursday
morning November 12th which some say is the beginning of Indian
Summer about 30 minutes before sunrise facing southeast where
you will see an exquisite 25 day old crescent Moon. And just off
to its left the planet whose lost rings have now returned, our
old friend Saturn. Now the reason I say its lost rings have now
returned is because twice in Saturn's 30 year orbit about the
Sun, about every 15 years, our Earth and Saturn line up in such
a way that we see its rings from an edge on position at which
time they completely disappear from view through most telescopes
for a few nights. But then as both planets keep moving and changing
their distance and aspect to one another we start seeing more
and more of one or the other side of Saturn's rings.

Now the rings completely disappeared in September.
Before September we were looking at the bottom or southern side
of Saturn's rings for several years. But now we are just starting
a several year ever-expanding view of looking at the top side
or northern side of Saturn's rings. And we will see more and more
of them as time goes by. Now without Saturn's rings, Saturn is
only 75,000 miles wide. Add its rings and it's actually twice
as wide as Jupiter from one edge to the other, 176,000 miles wide.
But they are only 30 feet thick. That's why they can disappear
from view when we see them edge on. Wow!

Now on Friday morning November 13th a slightly
skinnier Moon will be well past Saturn and on its way to the brightest
star in Virgo the virgin, Spica, which may be hard to see in twilight.
But if you wait for 24 hours more you can use the Moon to find
it because on Saturday the 14th an even skinnier Moon will be
almost beside it. Finally on Sunday morning the 15th one of the
skinniest Moons you'll ever see, if you have a clear flat horizon,
will be just to the side of, also horizon hugging , brightest
planet of them all, Venus, which will soon disappear from sight.

Venus is of course much smaller than Saturn,
only 8,000 miles wide, the same size as our Earth. But compared
to Spica, Venus and Saturn are puny. In fact Spica is 8 times
wider than our own million mile wide Sun. And is a much hotter
star burning with a fierceness 23, 000 times our Sun's light intensity.
So there you have it. A chance to use an aging waning crescent
Moon to find two planets and a wonderful star. Thursday the 12th,
the Moon visits Saturn, on Friday the 13th between Saturn and
Spica, Saturday the 14th almost next to Spica, and on Sunday the
15th hugging the horizon with dazzling Venus. Keep looking up!

How did you like this episode?
Please give us your comments. (Click
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"Star Gazer" is available
with iTunes,
for downloading with Quicktime
and we're now on YouTube

Check Out WPBT's Version

Star Gazer Minute

#09-44 M

11/02/2009 thru
11/08/2009

"The Lost Rings Of Saturn Return
And
An Aging Moon Visits Two Planets And
Virgo's Brightest Star"

Horkheimer: Next week an aging crescent Moon
will visit two planets and Virgo's brightest star. Thursday November
12th 30 minutes before sunrise face southeast and an exquisite
crescent Moon will be just off to the side of Saturn the planet
which lost its rings because they were invisible when they were
edge on in September but which are now beginning to return. On
Saturday the 14th the Moon will be right next to Spica the brightest
star of Virgo. And on Sunday the 15th one of the skinniest Moons
you'll ever see, will hug the horizon with Venus. Venus is 8,000
miles wide, Saturn is 75,000 miles wide, but Spica is a whopping
8 million miles wide! Use the Moon to find them, Thursday, Saturday
and Sunday. Keep looking up!

How did you like this episode?
Please give us your comments. (Click
Here)

STAR GAZER
THE INTERNATIONAL EDITION

STAR GAZER is seen nationally on most PBS stations. There
is a five minute and a one minute version available each week.
If it is not currently on your PBS station we suggest you contact
your local PBS programming director and let them know it is available
free to all PBS stations. Visit http://www.pbs.org/stationfinder/index.html
for help in locating your local PBS station. You may take STAR
GAZER off satellite for personal use, classroom use, astronomy
club use, etc. without written permission.

Satellite feed info:

GE 3 - PBS Transponder 512 - Digital Only!

Star Gazer is also available
from NASA CORE. A videotape of the current month is available
from NASA CORE (Contact us for current price)
NASA Central Operation of Resources for Educators
Lorain County JVS NASA CORE / 15181 Route 58 South / 440/775-1400
/ FAX 440/775-1460 /
http://www.nasa.gov/education/core
nasa_order@lcjvs.net

Notice : These are working drafts of the scripts for
STAR GAZER.
Changes may well be made as production requires.
"Star Gazer" is available with iTunes,
for downloading with Quicktime
and we're now on YouTube

STAR GAZER

Episode #09-45/1666th
Show
To Be Aired : Monday 11/09/2009 through Sunday 11/15/2009

"Predictions Are For A Really Good
Leonid Meteor Shower Next Week!"

Horkheimer: Greetings, greetings fellow star gazers. Every November
we are treated to a meteor shower which appears to originate from
Leo the Lion. So we call this event the Leonid meteor shower.
Last year it was a dud because bright moonlight wiped out all
but the very brightest of meteors. But this year ta da!, there'll
be no moonlight to interfere. So if you get far away from city
lights and it's clear out you should be able to catch quite a
few. Plus some experts predict a stronger than usual shower this
year.

Now the best time to look this year is between
the hours of midnight and dawn next Tuesday morning November 17th.
We've set up our skies at the mid point about 3 a.m. facing east
where half way up from the horizon you'll see the bright stars
which make up Leo the Lion. The front part of Leo is marked by
stars which trace out a sickle shape or backwards question mark.
And Leo's rear is marked by three stars which form a triangle.
Plus this year you'll see a bright light above Leo's head which
usually isn't there, planet number four, rouge-gold Mars.

Now every November on the night or nights of
the Leonid meteor shower bright streaks of light which we call
meteors flash across the sky and appear to come from Leo's head.
But it's only an optical illusion because the meteors are million
of times closer than Leo's stars. You see meteors are nothing
more than tiny bits of comet debris that slam into our Earth's
atmosphere so fast that they heat up and incinerate and cause
gasses in our Earth's atmosphere to briefly light up, kind of
like the gasses in a neon tube. So the streak of light you're
seeing is not actually the meteor itself but the lit up gaseous
path along which the speck is traveling. "But where do these
specks come from ?", you ask.

Well most meteors are caused by comet litter.
You see every time a comet visits our Sun it sheds some of its
tail and leaves a trail of debris in its orbit. So after hundreds
of years and dozens of passages many comet orbits become filled
with tiny specks of comet debris. The comet which causes the Leonids
is named comet Tempel-Tuttle. It last paid our sun a visit back
in 1998 and won't be back again until 2031. But every November
our Earth plows right through comet Tempel-Tuttle's littered orbital
pathway so that many specks of debris slam into our Earth's atmosphere
and leave the trails we call the Leonid meteors. Now most of these
specks are very tiny and leave very faint trails but there are
always a few bigger specks and they can leave brilliant trails
which will make you gasp with delight.

Because there is no bright moonlight this year
you can expect to see 15 to 20 meteors per hour or even more if
you follow the rules for maximum viewing. Simply get as far from
city lights as possible and watch from about midnight to dawn
Tuesday morning. Lay back in a sleeping bag or a lawn chair with
your feet pointing east and slowly scan the sky back and forth.
And if you do that for at least a couple hours you should see
a few bright ones, more perhaps toward dawn. Do not use a telescope
or binoculars. This is strictly a naked eye event, which is my
favorite kind. See how many you can count in one hour's time.
Keep looking up!

How did you like this episode?
Please give us your comments. (Click
Here)

"Star Gazer" is available
with iTunes,
for downloading with Quicktime
and we're now on YouTube

Check Out WPBT's Version

Star Gazer Minute

#09-45 M

11/09/2009 thru
11/15/2009

"Predictions Are For A Really
Good
Leonid Meteor Shower Next Week!"

Horkheimer: Next Tuesday morning from midnight
to dawn we'll be treated to a better than usual Leonid meteor
shower. Every November our Earth plows through a river of comet
debris and when some of these specks of debris slam into our Earth's
atmosphere at speeds of 160 thousand miles per hour they heat
up the gasses in our Earth's atmosphere and leave trails of light
which we call the Leonid meteors because they appear to come from
Leo the lion. You may see 15 to 20 or even more per hour if you
get far from city lights and watch a couple of hours from midnight
to dawn. Lay back on a lawn chair and slowly scan the sky and
have plenty of patience. No telescopes allowed it's a naked eye
event only, which is my favorite kind. Keep looking up!

STAR GAZER
THE INTERNATIONAL EDITION

STAR GAZER is seen nationally on most PBS stations. There is a
five minute and a one minute version available each week. If it
is not currently on your PBS station we suggest you contact your
local PBS programming director and let them know it is available
free to all PBS stations. Visit http://www.pbs.org/stationfinder/index.html
for help in locating your local PBS station.

You may take STAR GAZER off satellite for personal use, classroom
use, astronomy club use, etc. without written permission.

Satellite feed info:

GE 3 - PBS Transponder 512 - Digital Only!

Star Gazer is also available from NASA CORE.
A videotape of the current month is available from NASA CORE (Contact
us for current price)
NASA Central Operation of Resources for Educators
Lorain County JVS NASA CORE / 15181 Route 58 South / 440/775-1400
/ FAX 440/775-1460 /
http://www.nasa.gov/education/core
nasa_order@lcjvs.net

Notice : These are working drafts of the scripts for
STAR GAZER.
Changes may well be made as production requires.

"Star Gazer" is available
with iTunes,
for downloading with Quicktime
and we're now on YouTube

STAR GAZER

Episode # 09-46 / 1667th Show

To Be Aired : Monday 11/16/2009 through Sunday 11/22/2009

"The Queen Of November Nights
Rides High On Thanksgiving"

Horkheimer: Greetings, greetings fellow star
gazers. Some constellations are easy to find and some are difficult.
But one of autumn's most famous constellations is very easy to
find any night in November because she is at her highest from
sunset to midnight. And she'll be fun to look for after thanksgiving
dinner. Let me show you.

Go out between 8 and 10 p.m. look due north
and you'll see 5 bright stars which if you connect with lines
trace out a squashed out letter "m". This is the constellation
Cassiopeia named for a legendary queen of exceptional beauty of
ancient Ethiopia. But how does this squashed out "m"
shape remind anyone of a queen? Well if we add a dim little star
to the 5 we can trace out a nice stick figure of Cassiopeia's
throne. At this time of year and night however she'd have to be
glued to it or wear a seat belt because she is hanging face downward
over the North Star. Now if you look directly opposite Cassiopeia
on the other side of the North Star, close to the horizon you
will see the Big Dipper.

And one of the nifty things about Cassiopeia
and the Big Dipper is that they circle endlessly around the North
Star, always opposite each other, like the hands of a clock. For
instance if we move forward in time by six hours you'll notice
that Cassiopeia's throne is almost upright and the Big Dipper
has moved to the right of the North Star. Six hours later Cassiopeia
is beneath the North Star and the Big Dipper above it and so on,
a great celestial clock, which incidentally is one of the functions
these two constellations served for our clockless ancestors. But
why you may ask would anyone put a great queen on a sky throne
when her throne is so often upside down in a precarious position?

Well it seems that Cassiopeia claimed that
she was the most beautiful creature on Earth, which didn't sit
very well with certain ancient deities. So as punishment for her
vanity she was placed in the heavens on her throne and forced
to ride around the North Star for all eternity, sometimes in a
queenly upright position but more often in a less than royal posture.
And Cassiopeia still serves as a cosmic object lesson to mere
mortals who brag of their personal beauty.

Today Cassiopeia is marked by 5 bright stars.
But 473 years ago this month, in November 1572, astronomers all
around the world watched a new star slowly grow in brightness
in addition the five, a star which outshone every other star in
the sky for many weeks and which was visible for over a year.
We now know that it was a giant exploding star called a supernova.
But all that remains in this spot now are the ghostly echoes of
its shattered remnants still flying at great speed through space
and time. So get thee out and look for an ancient queen whose
vanity "done her in" and who once had a super star visitor
that gives the name super star a whole different meaning. Invite
a queen to your thanksgiving feast and keep looking up!

How did you like this episode?
Please give us your comments. (Click
Here)

"Star Gazer" is available
with iTunes,
for downloading with Quicktime
and we're now on YouTube

Check Out WPBT's Version

Star Gazer Minute

#09-46 M

11/16/2009 thru 11/22/2009

"The Queen Of November Nights
Rides High On Thanksgiving"

Horkheimer: Every November and Thanksgiving
the constellation queen Cassiopeia rides high. On November nights
between 8 and 10 p.m. look north and you will see five bright
stars which trace out the letter "m". Add a dim star
and you can imagine Cassiopeia's throne here on which she rides
endlessly around the North Star as punishment for her vanity,
strapped in no doubt by a very ancient seat belt. 437 years ago
this month she had a visitor, a brilliant new star which outshone
every star in the sky, which we now know was a giant exploding
star, a supernova whose shattered remains we can still see here,
a super star visitor for a super queen. So brighten your Thanksgiving
night with cosmic royalty. Keep looking up!

How did you like this episode?
Please give us your comments. (Click
Here)

STAR GAZER
THE INTERNATIONAL EDITION

STAR GAZER is seen nationally on most PBS stations. There is a
five minute and a one minute version available each week. If it
is not currently on your PBS station we suggest you contact your
local PBS programming director and let them know it is available
free to all PBS stations. Visit http://www.pbs.org/stationfinder/index.html
for help in locating your local PBS station.

You may take STAR GAZER off satellite for personal use, classroom
use, astronomy club use, etc. without written permission.

Satellite feed info:

Star Gazer is also available from NASA CORE.
A videotape of the current month is available from NASA CORE (Contact
us for current price)
NASA Central Operation of Resources for Educators
Lorain County JVS NASA CORE / 15181 Route 58 South / 440/775-1400
/ FAX 440/775-1460 /
http://www.nasa.gov/education/core
nasa_order@lcjvs.net

Notice : These are working drafts of the scripts for
STAR GAZER.
Changes may well be made as production requires.

"Star Gazer" is available with iTunes,
for downloading with Quicktime
and we're now on YouTube

STAR GAZER

Episode # 09-47 / 1668th Show

To Be Aired : Monday 11/23/2009 through Sunday 11/29/2009

"Thanksgiving Week's Stars And
Start Your Mars Watch Now"

Horkheimer: Greetings, greetings fellow star gazers.
Every year at Thanksgiving I like to remind you about three cosmic
birds in addition to the turkey on the table. And this year will
be no exception. However I'd also like to point out a few other
wonderful cosmic objects, which you can see after Thanksgiving
dinner as a kind of heavenly dessert. Let me show you.

O.K., we've got our skies set up for any night
this Thanksgiving week about 8 p.m. facing southwest where the
brightest thing you'll see will be the king of the planets Jupiter.
In addition to looking wonderful to the naked eye it is exciting
to watch through a small telescope with its four largest moons
constantly changing orbit around it. Next if you look to the right
of Jupiter due west you'll see three bright stars which make up
the Summer Triangle, but which I call the Thanksgiving for-the-birds
triangle because each star is related to a bird. Altair is the
brightest star in Aquila the Eagle, Deneb is the brightest star
in Cygnus the Swan and Vega is the brightest star in Lyra the
Harp which thousands of years ago had several feathery reincarnations.
So you've got three cosmic birds in addition to your Thanksgiving
turkey.

Next look almost overhead and you'll see four
much dimmer stars, which mark the Great Square of Pegasus, which
is one of autumn's most prominent constellations. But what I think
is really nifty is if you look to the east you'll see most of
winter's brightest stars just beginning to rise. Three stars lined
up in a row mark Orion's belt, two bright stars mark his shoulders
and two bright stars mark his knees. Close beside him are the
two brightest stars of the Gemini Twins, Castor and Pollux and
above them both the bright red star Aldebaran, which marks the
eye of Taurus the Bull. And right beside it if you're far from
city lights and have dark skies you'll see one of my favorite
groups of stars the very tiny but exquisite Pleiades, the Seven
Sisters and below it the bright star Capella of Auriga the Charioteer.

So any Thanksgiving week night if you go outside
around 8 p.m. you'll see not only the Summer Triangle getting
ready to set but most of winter's stars starting to rise plus
the winged horse Pegasus almost overhead. But aha! this year there
is something very special added because if you wait until around
11 p.m. and look east you'll see a bright reddish gold object
rising and that dear friends is the planet Mars which you can
watch get steadily brighter night after night until it reaches
its brightest on January 29 when it will be at opposition and
at its closest and brightest for this meeting with Earth, a meeting
which we experience every 26 months. So start your Mars watch
now as it grows brighter every single night and gets higher in
the heavens each night at the same time. Happy Thanksgiving and
keep looking up!

"Star Gazer" is available
with iTunes,
for downloading with Quicktime
and we're now on YouTube

Check Out WPBT's Version

Star Gazer Minute

#09-47 M

11/23/2009 thru 11/29/2009

"Thanksgiving Week's Stars And
Start Your Mars Watch Now"

Horkheimer: Cosmic goodies await you after
Thanksgiving dinner. Thanksgiving week about 8 p.m. face southwest
and the planet king will beg you to look at it through a small
telescope. Look west and you'll see the three bright stars, which
make up the Summer Triangle. Each star is related to a bird so
in addition to your Thanksgiving turkey you've got three cosmic
birds after dinner. Look east and you'll see most of winter's
brightest stars just rising, Orion the hunter, the Gemini Twins,
Taurus the Bull and the tiny but exquisite Pleiades, the Seven
Sisters. Plus at 11 o'clock you'll see rouge gold Mars rising.
Watch it get brighter every single night until it reaches super
brightness January 29th! Happy cosmic Thanksgiving and keep looking
up!

How did you like this episode?
Please give us your comments. (Click
Here)

STAR GAZER
THE INTERNATIONAL EDITION

STAR GAZER is seen nationally on most PBS stations. There is a
five minute and a one minute version available each week. If it
is not currently on your PBS station we suggest you contact your
local PBS programming director and let them know it is available
free to all PBS stations. Visit http://www.pbs.org/stationfinder/index.html
for help in locating your local PBS station.

You may take STAR GAZER off satellite for personal use, classroom
use, astronomy club use, etc. without written permission.

Satellite feed info:

Star Gazer is also available from NASA CORE.
A videotape of the current month is available from NASA CORE (Contact
us for current price)
NASA Central Operation of Resources for Educators
Lorain County JVS NASA CORE / 15181 Route 58 South / 440/775-1400
/ FAX 440/775-1460 /
http://www.nasa.gov/education/core
nasa_order@lcjvs.net

Notice : These are working drafts of the scripts for
STAR GAZER.
Changes may well be made as production requires.

"Star Gazer" is available with iTunes,
for downloading with Quicktime
and we're now on YouTube

STAR GAZER

Episode # 09-48 / 1669th Show

To Be Aired : Monday 11/30/2009 through Sunday 12/06/2009

"Dates to Remember In December : Several Cosmic
Goodies
Await Your Viewing Pleasure"

Horkheimer: Greetings, greetings fellow star gazers.
In addition to all the holiday gift gifting going on, December
will be gifting us with several goodies from the cosmos. Because
December is one of those peculiar months which will have two full
moons, one of which will be on New Year's Eve. Plus two wonderful
planets will share opposite sides of the sky before midnight.
And what may be the best meteor shower of the year, the Geminids,
will give us something to ooh and aah about. Let me show you.

O.K., we've got our skies set up for next Tuesday
December 1st just after sunset where you will see an almost, just
a few hours away from full, Moon rising, which according to some
American natives is called the full cold Moon. It will slowly
travel up the sky and reach its highest point around midnight.
And as it slowly starts to descend it will officially turn full
Tuesday morning at 2:30 a.m. Eastern Time and will finally set
at sunrise. Full moon number two will occur on new year's eve
Thursday December 31st. Called the Long Night Moon, because the
hours of darkness are always longest at this time of year in the
northern hemisphere, it will also rise just after sunset and be
visible in the sky all night long, reaching its highest point
around midnight, and will be super high and will look almost like
a floodlight attached to the top of the sky illuminating the landscape
below as we ring in the New Year. And if there's snow the scene
at midnight will be absolutely dazzling.

The next dates I'd like you to mark down are
late evening Sunday Dec. 13th and midnight to dawn Monday the
14th when the annual Geminid meteor shower may be the best of
the year. Interestingly, unlike all other meteor showers which
are usually better after midnight, the Geminid meteor shower is
frequently good before midnight. But like all meteor showers,
the longer you stay out, the more meteors you'll see.

And now for you planet aficionados, you'll
have two really good ones to choose from before midnight. To see
the first simply look toward the west just after sunset and you'll
see dazzlingly bright, king of the planets, 88,000 mile wide Jupiter,
eleven times the width of our planet Earth which is always fun
to see through even the smallest of telescopes because you can
watch four of his largest moons as they change place in orbit
around the planet hour after hour. And as Jupiter sets in late
evening you can turn around and face east and between 10 and 11
you'll see the 4,000 mile wide rouge gold planet Mars rising.
And Mars is the one to watch because it is zooming closer and
closer to us every single day. And will be brighter each successive
night. In fact it will grow almost two times brighter from December
1st to the 31st. So trace the progress of Mars and Jupiter this
month, watch the Geminid meteor shower on the 13th and 14th and
bathe under the light of two full Moons in one month's time. Cosmic
goodies indeed. Keep looking up!

"Star Gazer" is available
with iTunes,
for downloading with Quicktime
and we're now on YouTube

Check Out WPBT's Version

Star Gazer Minute

#09-48 M

11/30/2009 thru 12/06/2009

"Dates to Remember In December : Several Cosmic
Goodies
Await Your Viewing Pleasure"

Horkheimer: Cosmic goodies fill December's
skies. There'll be two full Moons this December, the first next
week on December 1st and 2nd and another on New Year's Eve. Plus
there are two planets you really must watch. After sunset face
southwest and it will beg you to look at it through a small telescope
and watch its four moons waltz around it. Look east after 11 p.m.
and you can watch the red planet Mars grow brighter every single
night until it reaches super brightness on January 29th. Plus
next week Sunday evening the 13th and Monday morning the 14th
the annual Geminid meteor shower may be the best of the year.
What a month, two full Moons, two bright planets and a meteor
shower that just may knock your socks off. Keep looking up!

How did you like this episode?
Please give us your comments. (Click
Here)